Naked Sunday Morning Swim

That title should increase the hits from google searches.

The swim wasn't actually naked but it felt like it. It was my first swim since last year without a wetsuit. Felt really weird ... and hard work! My technique was rubbish. I could feel my legs and hips trailing a couple of feet under the water. Tried to lower my head and kick more (I hate kicking) but it seemed too much like hard work so I just got the swim over and done with. I didn't count lengths but it must have been about 60. Time was 31:10. Poor pace but I'll be OK once I get my friend the wetsuit back.

T1 was the driver's seat of the ute in the swimming pool car park. Didn't rush. 'Wasted' 6 mins and 11 seconds. Can't relate that to the real T1 in Jan but if I use up over 6 mins of my 6 hours in T1 I will not be happy. Sub6 for T1 is the goal :)

Bike ride went well. Head wind on the way out. Struggled to 'find my legs' but I manged to turn with an average of 28.2km/hr. I was using Nuun and gels and they worked really well. My belches per hour were way down on Powerade/Gel combo and my stomach felt more settled. I also drank more over the 2 hours. Nuun goes down so easy it encourages you (me) to drink more. I also got into a routine of 3 small sips of gel every 20 mins and three small swigs of nuun to wash it down ... then nuun in between at every roundabout or junction. Finished the ride much more hydrated than normal (colour of ... well you know!) .

Had tail wind on the way back and I watched as my average crept up to 29km/hr. I didn't want the ride to end cos I felt strong with the wind behind. Got back to car park with a ride time of 1:54 and an average of 29km/hr. I'd settle for that on race day I think.

Big thing about the ride was that I did it blind ... well almost blind. I did it without my glasses. I was getting fed up with them slipping down my nose and having to look up so much to be able to see through them that I thought I'd try without them. I know the course well and I can see big cars and trucks. They're the ones that would kill me if they hit me so long as I can see them I'll be OK. I apologise to anyone riding out there that I don't wave back to. It's not that I'm ignoring people it's just that I can't see them. I need to get a pair of cycling glasses now cos my eyes were streaming by the end of the ride.

T2 was in a different location. I used the passenger seat instead. T2 was quicker than T1 but still nearly 4 mins. Some of this was wasted faffing with my ipod and setting the Nike+ so could have been faster without this. Glad I used it though because I like the feedback about pace. I'm going to use it during the race in Jan but without the earphones. I can see the display and know my pace and time and will know if I have to speed up at all.

The run was only 30 mins so I can't read too much into it but it felt good. I did a 4:1 combo so overall pace was quite low (9:50mins/mile) but my runs in between were sub 9 and I didn't feel laboured at all. I think I could have possibly ran a bit faster but I didn't want to push my luck too much.

The calf was fine. Only time it niggles was during the bike ride but I sat a bit further back and dropped my heel on each stroke and it felt fine. This also seemed to improve my speed so I kept to this 'position'.

I shouldn't extrapolate these figures to the full race distance but .... where's the harm. I don't think I would have gone Sub6 but there's still 7 weeks so I have time for improvement ... and I'm banking on my taper giving me a bit more of an edge. I was soooo tired yesterday (Saturday) and fell asleep on the floor in the afternoon. Apparently the kids came in and asked me if they could go out on the go-cart and I told them that they could if they wore their swimming armbands. I have no recollection of the incident. I'm not sure if they wore them ... I just went back into a deep sleep.

So extrapolation ... that might increase the google search hits as well :)

1500m - 31:10
would mean 41:30 for 2K :(

T1 - 6:11

Bike - 29km/hr over 90K = 3 hours 6 mins

T2 - 3:56

21K at 9:50/mile pace (I'm really messed up being a Englishman in NZ) = 2 hrs 9 mins

Giving a total of 6:06:37

Ah well ... If I'm honest I think my time is going to be nearer this than Sub6 but I have to keep believing.

Bit tired now! ... It would be OK but I have to drive a friend to Auckland and then come back tonight which is a 400k round trip. I'll be lucky to get back before midnight. I have stocked up with Red Bull so it should be OK.

If there's no blog entries for a while then it wasn't.

1st swim for over a week ... and it felt like it. I was hoping that my arm would be fully recovered but it was still 'uncomfortable' on the pull of the stroke. Managed to complete the 2K in under 40 mins but it was hard work. Most of the 10 length sets were under 5 mins but they crept up past 5 mins towards the end.

1 hour 15 min ride tonight straight after work. I've now sorted out a route that has a few hills (I avoided these last year) and takes about 40mins. I did two loops of this for a 1:18 workout. Calf started to moan on some of the hills but I just told it to shut up. Never worried me on bike rides before. Stretched it well afterwards. Checked my training plan after the stretch and it said 45 min ride. DOH! Still I enjoyed the ride and my dinner wasn't that cold.

I have discovered NUUN and I love it! I've been hearing lots about it on various blogs and podcasts and I thought I'd give it a go. It's just a tablet that you add to water and it tops up electrolytes and sodium and other stuff ..... I'm going to use this in combination with gels and water. Anyone else used it?

Read in the local paper tonight that there were dolphins in Pilot Bay this morning 25m from the shore swimming about the boats that are moored there. That just totally freaks me out! I would love to have seen them from the shore but ... and I'm trying to think of another way of expressing how it makes me feel but I can't ..... it just freaks me out!

Felt tired at work today. I need more sleep!